Saving Caname
by Reclaimer
Summary: A priestess follows the trail of a paladin's emotions in an attempt to liberate the paladin from an evil warlock.


Millia abruptly falls to one knee, holding her stomach. Her face is drawn in a combination of fear, discomfort, and utmost concern.

"What is it, Millia?"

Millia makes a small, sickly sound.

"Millia? Are you alright?"

Millia raises her gaze; her eyes appear as if she could vomit at any moment.

"She's so afraid… The fear's so thick I can practically taste it… It's making me feel sick…"

"Who's afraid?"

"It's coming from over here… this way…" Millia forces herself to her feet, using her staff as a makeshift cane. She hobbles awkwardly, yet quickly and with characteristically silent determination toward the northeast.

Valiatar sighs and rolls her eyes. She doesn't have time for this; she'd simply saved Millia out of past formalities of etiquette. She didn't have to gallivant across Mulgore and the Barrens with this helpless girl if there was no danger… Vali shrugs lightly and continues to follow the hobbling priestess. The pirate mage had come to Thunder Bluff in search of her husband, but had instead found a terrified priestess in the clutches of a Voidwalker. Now, the pair treks across the plains of Mulgore toward the Barrens' savanna in search of something in Millia's head.

Millia falls to her knees again. She grips the sides of her head with both hands, her eyes wide with fear, her breath coming in swift gasps. She trembles involuntarily, her voice uttering small, fearful squeaks.

Valiatar kneels next to the fallen priestess, muttering in exasperation at her own illogical decision to follow Millia on a chase after some unnamed… fear. "Millia, tell me what's going on." Vali's voice is laced with her apparent irritation. The already fiery-tempered mage has been intensified by her time with the Blackwater Raiders.

Millia's voice is a barely audible whisper. "We have to save Caname… He's a monster…"

Valiatar blinks. Her voice echoes with new concern. "Who's a monster?" Vali takes Millia by the arms, gently hauling the sickened priestess to her feet. Upon reaching her feet, Millia begins to hobble onward, whispering in delirium.

"Caname… Caname… Run from him, don't… don't let… Caname…"

A small hut comes into view. By Valiatar's reckoning, the dilapidated thatch house has been abandoned for some time… several months at least. The roof is obviously sagging, even at the distant vantage point of the approaching mage and priestess. The clay walls are riddled with holes; the disrepair of the primitive dwelling becomes more apparent as the pair of female Sin'dorei continues its approach.

A Voidwalker stands in the doorway of the ramshackle hut. Millia freezes in her tracks, her eyes wide with terror at the sight of the genie-like demon, her hands clinging to Valiatar in her fear.

Valiatar looks down at Millia, then up at the Voidwalker in the doorway. The demon has noticed the two women, but has not moved from his station in the entrance of the hut. Vali scowls. She has a deep-seeded hatred for warlocks, and if this is the… monster… Millia has been referring to, Vali will make certain the evil man burns for his treatment of Millia's friend.

A female voice screams in painful terror from inside the hut.

"Caname!" Millia tears herself from Valiatar, running with concerned resolve toward the demon-guarded hut.

Valiatar curses, running after the frantic priestess. Millia is afraid of demons; Vali remembers that much, and seeing Millia charge one of the very creatures that she fears has awoken a realization inside of the pirate mage. Vali isn't exactly sure what the feeling is, but she is certain of one thing at this moment: Millia is acting on something greater than her own power. The pirate mage teleports into Millia's path in order to stop the priestess from doing anything rash; putting her hands on Millia's shoulders and holding the priestess in place.

The pair stands outside the entrance; two women clinging to one another. The pirate mage holds the priestess and the priestess clings to the pirate mage in utter shock and terror.

Inside the hut stands a man. His long, shimmering, black hair hangs down his back. He's facing away from the two women and his gaze is lowered to a trembling, sobbing Sin'dorei woman before him.

The man's Voidwalker (for the man is a warlock) glances over its muscular shoulder, its hissing, inhuman voice grates through the hot Barrens air. "Master Rand, the priestess has arrived."

Rand Taulindil, the warlock, Millia's 'monster', turns from his victim. His eyes glow with Fel energies and his visage is twisted into a vile mockery of a smile. He may be a Sin'dorei, but his power comes from the risky mastery of the Burning Legion; his Voidwalker is a denizen of the Twisting Nether, the home of countless demons. As he steps toward the two women at the door, his tortured victim is revealed by the harsh Barrens sunlight.

Caname Stryfe lies in the dirt, her body trembling in horror and in agony from Rand's curses. She looks up at the evil man's shadow, her face a mask of the most complete terror.

Millia's voice is an inaudible whisper, "C-caname…" She struggles for a split second against Valiatar's grasp, wanting desperately to help her friend; to hold her and tell her that everything would be all right… Millia's eyes meet with Rand's. Their gazes lock for but a moment, but to the frightened priestess, it seemed like an eternity.

Rand's eyes narrow. He remembers his encounter with this weakling priestess in Orgrimmar, when she had taken over his mind. He stares deeply into her frightened gaze, daring her to try her mind-meld trick again. He smirks; a gesture of dual purpose. He hopes she falls for his bluff, but at the same time, he's feeling confident. The last time the warlock and the priestess had met, Rand didn't have Millia's dear paladin as his captive. The warlock sends a small nudge to his demon via their blood-bond.

Millia looks away. The evil emanating from this man is too much, especially now that Caname is incapacitated. Millia isn't sure if she'll be able to save her dear friend from this sinister warlock and his Voidwalker. Millia looks up at the genie-like demon; her eyes widen in fear as she watches it advance. The demon moves like a wraith, his leg-less form gliding through the air, a trail of smoky, black darkness in its wake.

Valiatar grunts in frustration. She shoves Millia aside; the priestess falls to the ground. Flames erupt in the pirate mage's hands as the Voidwalker continues to advance; the demon shifts his attention from the priestess to the mage. It raises his massive fist to strike the fiery mage.

Vali is no longer there.

Valiatar re-appears, having teleported twenty yards to the demon's left, and gracefully twirling to face her target, fire dancing about her fingertips and swirling in the palms of her hands. Her eyes blaze with flames matching those in her hands.

The Voidwalker balks in surprise, sharply turning to face his quarry. His form bristles with the realization of his imminent demise…

Vali releases the flame in her hands, hurling a shrieking ball of fiery destruction toward the hesitant demon. The flame tears into the Voidwalker's very essence, disintegrating it into a flash of darkness. The demon's massive bracers fall to the ground through its dissipated form. Vali turns her attention to the demon's master, her eyes promising the evil man a similar fate.

Millia stands with her staff clenched in her hands, swallowing her fear down, determinedly facing Rand. Rand's hands fill with darkness; his shadowy power alights in his eyes.

Millia reacts in an instant; a holy shield appears about her body, a translucent bubble of protecting light. She calls out, imploring the Light to come to her aid. Her palms seem to gather a holy glow from the ambient glow of the harsh Barrens sunlight. The glow gathers for a brief moment in the girl's hands; the Light's power manifests itself in a holy smite waiting to be released. Millia calls out again, her hands flying up to face her foe, the holy energy released from her palms.

Rand cries out in pain as a holy lance slices his chest, rending his robe cleanly and opening a small gash across his pectoral muscles. He staggers back in surprise; this woman had never been able to strike at him before. His eyes flash with malice as he glances toward his second enemy; the mage who has destroyed his demon. Rand's face twists into a frustrated glare. He knows he cannot defeat both of these women on his own. He swiftly retreats into the shadow of the hut.

Caname gasps as Rand re-enters the hut. She cringes against the back wall as he smiles a mockery of pleasantry in her direction. His voice is a dangerous hiss in her ear, "I will return for you, my dear…" Rand gives Caname a promissory kiss on the forehead before activating his hearthstone, vanishing from sight as he teleports away. Caname slumps against the wall, sobbing softly in pain, terror… and mild relief. Rand is gone.

Millia charges into the hut, crying in absolute sorrow. She skids to a stop, falling onto her knees before her friend. She hunches over Caname, her face in her hands, sobbing uncontrollably, her voice muffled by her hands, "Oh, oh… oh, Caname, I'm so sorry! I'm so sorry…"

Caname continues to tremble for a moment as she looks up at Millia. The priestess has begun to heal the damage done by Rand's curses. As the pain fades, Caname's trembling slows, then ceases altogether. She blinks, clearing her vision. Her voice is a pained whisper, "Milli…" Caname reaches out, lightly resting a hand on Millia's shoulder.

Millia continues to sob as she inquires help from the Light to heal Caname's wounds. "I'm… so sorry… I… I… promised to protect… protect…" The beleaguered priestess cannot speak. Her tears fall too thickly. She had promised to protect Caname, her dearest friend, from the one person in all of Azeroth that Caname feared.

Millia has failed.


End file.
